According to Reuters, Japan Tobacco announced that it would cut the price of its low-risk tobacco product’s starter kit by half, and is now trying to compete with rival PMI’s IQOS.
The Japanese Tobacco company said recently that the recommended retail price of the kit would be reduced by 56% to 3480 yen (US $31.90) from 7980 yen on December 1.
Japan is the world’s largest market for “heat not burn” (HNB) products, which emit less smoke than traditional cigarettes, because ordinary electronic cigarettes containing liquid nicotine are banned in Japan.
In October, the company said fewer people tried and switched to Ploom S than expected due to fierce competition from Philip Morris’s iQOS, which lowered its annual profit forecast.
The company also said it currently expects operating profit of 505 billion yen for the full year, lower than the previous estimate of 518 billion yen. In the third quarter, operating profit fell 26% year-on-year to 129 billion yen.
